Behaviour of Multiscale Progressive Damage for Different Matrix Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics Bars

The damage formation and evolution of glass fiber reinforced plastics( GFRP) bar on mechanical properties were mainly evaluated by theoretical analysis and numerical calculations which lack of test basis of damage process. The two different matrices of unsaturated polyester and vinylester GFRP bars were selected to carry out a series of macro-mesoscopic physical and mechanical tests to analyze the tensile progressive damage process on a multiscale. The formation of apparent crack,the bonding of internal components as well as the strain change were all reflected damage evolution of GFRP bar,and a certain correlation existed between them. Wherein the matrix has an obvious impact on the damage of bar,the component stress transfer effect of vinylester bar is better than unsaturated polyester from crack propagation observation and scanning electron microscopy( SEM). The cyclic loading tests quantitatively reflect the difference of damage accumulation between different matrix bars,and the failure load of bars decreases nearly 10%.

Development and Properties of Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics Geogrid

Glass fiber reinforced plastics geogrid has a wide application in the field of soil reinforcement because of its high strength, good toughness, and resistance to environmental stress, creep resistance and strong stability. In order to get high-powered glass fiber reinforced plastics geogrid and its mechanical characteristics, the properties and physical mechanical index of geogrid have been got through the study of its raw material, production process and important quality index. The analysis and study have been made to the geogrid＇s mechanical properties with loading speed, three-axial compression, temperature tensile test and FLAC3D numerical simulation, thus obtain the mechanical parameters of its displacement time curve, breaking strength and elongation at break. Some conclusions can be drawn as follows： （a） Using glass fiber materials, knurling and coated projection process, the f^acture strength and corrosion resistance of geogrid are greatly improved and the interlocking bite capability of soil is enhanced. （b） The fracture strength of geogrid is related to temperature and loading rate. When the surrounding rock pressure is fixed, the strength and anti-deformation ability of reinforced soil are significantly enhanced with increasing reinforced layers. （c） The pullout test shows the positive correlation between geogrid displacement and action time. （d） As a new reinforced material, the glass fiber reinforced plastics geogrid is not mature enough in theoretical research and practical experience, so it has become an urgent problem both in theoretical study and practical innovation.

Strain coordination of quasi-plane-hypothesis for reinforced concrete beam strengthened by epoxy-bonded glass fiber reinforced plastic plate

The testing of thirteen reinforeed concrete （RC） beams strengthened by epoxy-bonded glass fiber reinforced plastic plate （GFRP） shows that the RC beam and the GFRP plate with epoxy bonding on it can work fairly well in coordination to eaeh other. But there is relative slipping between RC beam and GFRP plate. And the strain of GFRP and steel rebar of RC beam satisfies the quasi-plane-hypothesis, that is, the strain of longitudinal fiher that parallels to the neutral axis of plated beam within the scope of effective height （ h0 ） of the cross section is in direct proportion to the distance from the fiber to the neutral axis. The strain of GFRP and steel rebar satisfies the equation： εGFRP=Kεsteel.

Thermal Structure of Glass Fiber Reinforce Plastic Support Structure

The assembled form of thick-wall glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) tube and 0Cr18Ni9 austenitic stainless steel pipes was designed as the radius thermal-insulating and load-supporting structure in cryogenic vessels. In order to study the thermal leakage and gap changes on the support structure, as well as radius temperature and stress distribution on GFRP tube, an experimental investigation has been taken. The results indicate that the support structure is proved to fit well as thermal-insulating and load-supporting part in cryo-genic vessels, furthermore has high security during cryogenic applications.

Behavior of interfacial stresses between RC beams and GFRP sheets

Seven reinforced concrete （RC） beams with epoxy-bonded glass fiber reinforced plastic （GFRP） sheets and two control RC beams were experimentally tested to investigate the bond behavior of the interfaces between RC beams and GFRP sheets. The variable parameters considered in test beams are the layers of GFRP sheets, the bond lengths and the reinforcement ratios. The results indicate that the flexural strength of the repaired beams is increased, but the ultimate load of beams with GFRP sheets debonding failure is reduced relatively. The bond length is the main factor that results in bonding failure of the strengthened beams. An experimental method of interfacial shear stress is proposed to analyze the distribution of shear stress according to experimental results. The analytical method of shear and normal stresses and a simple equation are proposed to predict the peeling loads. The proposed model is applied to experimental beams. The analytical results show a good agreement with the experimental results.

A FATIGUE FAILURE CRITERION OF NOTCHED GFRP LAMINATES

A fatigue failure criterion for predicting the fatigue life of notched orthotropic fiber reinforced plasties (FRP) plates based on the concept of stress field intensity (SFI) near the notch root is subjected to further experiments. The investigation is accomplished by obtaining experimental data on the notched specimens of glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) with edged notches under tension tension cyclic loading. The process of initiation and growth of fatigue damage near the notch root is measured by means of the optic system with a computer controlled display (CCD) camera. The experimental results show that the number of loading cycles required to initiate fatigue damage is governed by the stress field intensity.

Experimental Analysis on Local Buckling of GFRP?Foam Sandwich Pipe Under Axial Compressive Loading

To find out the local buckling behaviors of glass fiber reinforced plastic(GFRP)-foam sandwich pipe suffering axial loading,a series of quasi-static axial compression tests are carried out in the laboratory.Comparing with the test data,systematic numerical analysis on the local buckling behavior of this sandwich pipe is also conducted,and the buckling failure mechanism is revealed.The influences of the key parameters on bearing capacity of the sandwich structure are discussed.Test and numerical results show that the local buckling failure of the GFRPfoam sandwich pipe is dominated basically by two typical modes,i.e.,the conjoint buckling and the layered buckling.Local buckling at the end,shear failure at the end and interface peeling failure are less efficient than the local buckling failure at the middle height,and ought to be restrained by appropriate structural measures.The local buckling bearing capacity increases linearly with the core density of the sandwich pipe structure.When the core density is relatively high(higher than 0.05 g/cm3),the effect of increasing the core density on improving the bearing efficiency is less on the specimens with a large ratio of the wall thickness to the radius than on those with a small one.Local layered buckling is another failure mode with lower bearing efficiency than the local conjoint buckling,and it can be restrained by increasing the core density to ensure the cooperation of the inner and the outer GFRP surface layer.The bearing capacity of the GFRP-foam sandwich pipe increases with the height-diameter ratio;however,the bearing efficiency decreases with this parameter.

GFRP Poles for Traffic Signs and Signal Poles: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia

GFRP poles have been widely used as lighting poles but their use as traffic signs and signal poles is still under development. This paper highlights the literature review and case study of using GFRP poles for traffic signs and signal poles in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The case study details the design of poles, construction, maintenance and their performance. Traffic sign poles were manufactured using filament winding and signal poles using pultrusion process. AASHTO Standard “Specifications for Structural Supports for Highway Signs, Luminaires and Traffic Signals” and ANSI 136.2. were used as materials specification and design for the pole. There is a need to develop dedicated design and construction guidelines to standardize the construction process. Further study about the crash resistance of GFRP poles at different speeds needs to be explored. In addition, the paper presents a high level comparison between the different materials like weight, safety, environmental degradation, strength, service life, durability in an aggressive environment, carbon footprint and economics.

Comparative study of two lay-up sequence dispositions for flexible skin design of morphing leading edge

Morphing leading edge has great potential for noise abatement and aerodynamic efficiency improvement.The drooping effect is realized by bending of the flexible skin which encloses to form the leading edge.Since the flexible skin is often made of composite laminates of Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics(GFRP),the lay-up sequences have become the determinant,which affects not only the morphing quality but also the manufacturing complexity.Two optimizing methods of layup sequences are comparatively studied.In the first method,the laminal quantities in 0,±45and 90vary independently,while in the second one,the concept of isotropic laminate unit[0/45/45/90]s is employed and the unit quantity is the unique variable.Final evaluation demonstrates that for both methods there is insignificant impact to the overall morphing quality;however,specific concern is equally necessary for these two methods to the tip of the leading edge where the skin is at its minimum thickness and bears the most severe bending deformation.In terms of computational efficiency and post-processing labor,the second method has better performance.

Friction and Cutting Properties of Hot-Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition Micro-and Fine-grained Diamond Coated Silicon Nitride Inserts

The micro-crystalline diamond (MCD) and fine-grained diamond (FGD) films are deposited on commercial silicon nitride inserts by the hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) method. The friction andcutting properties of as-deposited MCD and FGD films coated silicon nitride (Si3N4) inserts are comparatively investigated in this study. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy are adopted to studythe characterization of the deposited diamond films. The friction tests are conducted on a ball-on-plate typereciprocating friction tester in ambient air using Co-cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co), Si3N4 and ball-bearing steel (BBS) balls as the mating materials of the diamond films. For sliding against WC-Co, Si3N4 and BBS,the FGD film presents lower friction coeffcients than the MCD film. However, after sliding against Si3N4, the FGD film is subject to more severe wear than the MCD film. The cutting performance of as-deposited MCD and FGD coated Si3N4 inserts is examined in dry turning glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) composite materials,comparing with the uncoated Si3N4 insert. The results indicate that the lifetime of Si3N4 inserts can be prolonged by depositing the MCD or FGD film on them and the FGD coated insert shows longer cutting lifetime than the MCD coated one.

Review on the Characteristics,Heating Sources and Evolutionary Processes of the Operating Composite Insulators with Abnormal Temperature Rise

This paper reviews the research progress on abnormal temperature rise(ATR)of composite insulators.The ATR of composite insulators can be divided into two types,point-form temperature rise(PFTR)and bar-form temperature rise(BFTR).The composite insulators with PFTR only show significant temperature rise at high relative humidity(RH)(>70%),and the temperature rise is located in the area that is 20 cm above the metal end-fitting.In a low humidity environment(<30%),there is little temperature rise(<1.0 K).The polarization loss on the surface of the silicone rubber housing under an AC electric field after moisture absorption is the main heating source.Corona discharge in high RH causes surface degradation of the silicone rubber.The composite insulators with BFTR shows significant temperature rise at both high(>70%)and low(<30%)RH.The temperature rise could reach more than 10◦C and the temperature rise area is wider,extending from the high-voltage end to several shed units at the lowvoltage side.And the glass fiber reinforced plastic(GRP)core in the composite insulator is found to be corroded.The heating energy is supplied by both conductance loss and polarization loss of the corroded GRP core.The decay-like degradation of the GRP core is caused by the combination of damp conditions,high electric field,discharge,mechanical load,et al.and may evolve into a decay-like fracture of the composite insulator.The preventive methods concerning quality control,structure optimization,material modification and operational strategy are presented.It is suggested that when PFTR is detected on the composite insulator,the inspection period of the insulator should be properly shortened.The composite insulator should be replaced as soon as the BFTR was detected.